MES MICROS TRADE PLAN

Q: When is the right time to look for a new entry after a big overnight move?

After a large directional move, re-entry requires patience. You need a fresh setup at a new level, not a chase into extended price. The call is to close the platform, lock the profit, and wait for something new and clean. Waiting is a valid and often profitable trading decision.

50 Points Captured: Follow Price, Lock Green, and Wait for Something New

Posted: Monday April 13, 2026

☀️ AM BRIEFING

Monday, April 13th — Battle Plan 3 delivered a textbook overnight long from the Bull Bear line, giving members an opportunity to capture up to 50 points before the morning gap fill. The ES MES micro futures trade plan played out beautifully: strong levels held, the ladder worked, and the three-contract system showed exactly why you hold a lotto runner. It's a light economic calendar week — Existing Home Sales today, PPI tomorrow — with monthly OPEX Friday as the main event. The session wrapped with an exciting preview of Chart Buddy, a new one-click TradingView automation tool coming soon. The Battle Plan is unlocked tonight for anyone who wants to see the mappings before tomorrow's full live session.

Battle Plan 3 Trade Review: Overnight Long from the Bull Bear Line

If you were with us in the group last night, you already know how this one unfolded. Battle Plan 3 triggered right at the Bull Bear Strong Level — a textbook entry with clean structure. By Monday's session open, the trade was up 50 points with the runner still live, approaching the gap fill zone at the 2026 opening price. This is exactly what ES futures daily trade setups are designed to do.

Entry Point: Battle Plan 3, right at the Bull Bear Strong Level — entered Sunday night with the group.
Runner Management: Stop held at a negative position initially to survive a potential double-tap overnight. As the gap fill approached (~60 points from entry), the stop was tightened to lock 50 points.
Upside Target: The 2026 opening price — stated multiple times in the Battle Plan as the ultimate upside target for longs from below.
Scott's Add Attempt: Battle Plan 2 was the right place to look for an add. The trade pulled back and tested consistent lows — not every add works perfectly, but laddering into a winning position at the right structural level is the right idea.
Result: Battle Plan 3 up 50 points at session open. Platform closed. Green Over Greed.

Coming into the gap fill at 60 points from entry — hard to want to go long. Not impossible to short, but know where you're wrong and get out.

Three-Contract System: Running the Numbers on Battle Plan 3

The ES futures three-contract system taught at the Core Strategy Academy gives you a structured way to exit a winning trade in stages — taking partial profits at logical levels while keeping a lotto runner working. Here's how Battle Plan 3 could have played out with proper execution:

Option A — Lotto Runner: Take 10 at the first target, take 10 at the strong range break, run the final runner to nearly 30 more points above that. Total: ~50 points.
Option B — Conservative: Take 10, take 10, take 20 on the final runner. Total: ~40 points — a full week's worth on one setup.
Option C — Three-Contract System Pure: Stay behind break levels through the entire move. Result: 10 + 10 + 30 = 50 points.

The key decision on the lotto runner is picking your approach before the trade — lotto treatment (fixed target or stop back at entry) vs. following the three-contract system behind structure. Either works. Pick one and execute it perfectly.

You survived a 30-point pullback overnight. That's the whole point of the lotto runner. Stay out of your own way and let the system work.

Chart Buddy Preview: One-Click TradingView Automation

Chart Buddy is an upcoming tool — not yet released — that automates your TradingView chart management with one click. It's designed to replace the manual process of hunting through indicator lists and folder structures every time you want to change your view. A full document and walkthrough video are coming with the release.

Actions: Up to 10 customizable actions (expandable to 20) — each can switch timeframes, load strong levels, toggle indicators, and change chart layouts simultaneously with a single press.
Toggles: Individual indicator toggles (marked with a "T") let you flip essentials or volume profile on and off without disrupting your full setup.
Screenshot Tool: One-click native TradingView screenshot saves to a user-specified folder. Also supports auto-screenshot intervals (every 10s, 30s, or 1min) for automatic trade journaling.
Trade Coach Audio Alerts: Audio alerts will now fire through Chart Buddy during live trading. Set specific alerts — 30-minute warning, 10-minute warning, stop trading signal — so you always know where you are in the session.
Sync Note: If you delete and re-add an indicator, it gets a new TradingView ID and will need to be re-synced. Keep that in mind once Chart Buddy releases.

Trading Psychology: Follow Price, Not Your Feelings

Monday morning delivered one of the cleanest lessons of the week — and the session hadn't even hit RTH. Futures trading psychology gets tested hardest when a trade is working and the market is approaching key resistance. The easy move is to bail. The disciplined move is to follow your system all the way through.

Remove All Levels Once You're In: When managing a winning trade, you don't need the chart loaded with levels. All you need is your lotto runner plan. Follow that. Nothing else.
Bias Costs You Both Ways: If your bearish macro view is pushing you to take profits too early — or to short a move that hasn't given you a reason — that's your bias talking, not price. Trade what's happening in front of you.
No Entry Means No Entry: At 60 points from the overnight entry, approaching the gap fill — there's no clean long and shorting before the gap fills is counter-trend. Waiting is a position.
Green Over Greed: Once prudent, tighten the stop and lock profit. Don't regret capturing 50 points just because price continued. You followed the system. That's the win.

We were following price beautifully. That's what we were doing. Don't stop doing that just because the move got big.

"No level, no trade, period. Make price come to you. No prediction trading. What are the break levels telling you?"

❓ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS

What is the Bull Bear line in the ES futures Battle Plan?

A: The Bull Bear line (also called the Bull Bear Strong Level) is the key dividing level between a bullish and bearish session bias. When price is above it, bulls are in control — when price is below it, bears are in control. In Monday's session, Battle Plan 3 was set right at this level, giving traders a high-conviction long entry with the Bull Bear line as their structural anchor.

What is a lotto runner and how is it managed?

A: A lotto runner is the final contract in the three-contract system — a speculative extended hold that you allow to run beyond your normal targets. Since the first two contracts have already booked profit, the lotto runner costs you nothing extra and occasionally delivers outsized gains. On Monday, the lotto runner from Battle Plan 3 was held overnight and into the session, adding 30–50 points on top of already-booked profit. You can manage it by staying behind break levels (three-contract system approach) or by setting a fixed stop back at entry (lotto treatment).

How does the three-contract system work for ES MES micro futures?

A: The three-contract system, taught at the Core Strategy Academy, is Micros Trader's core position sizing and exit framework. You enter with three contracts (or three units of your chosen size), then exit in stages: take profit on the first at an early target, take profit on the second at a mid-range target, and run the third as a lotto runner behind break levels or structure. This lets you bank real profit quickly while keeping exposure to a larger move.

What does laddering mean in futures trading?

A: Laddering refers to scaling into a trade with multiple entries at sequentially better prices as the trade develops. In Monday's session, traders who were already long from the overnight entry could look to add at Battle Plan 2 — a logical structural re-entry area. Not every add works perfectly, but building size at the right levels, not chasing price, is the concept.

What is Green Over Greed?

A: Green Over Greed is one of Micros Trader's core brand principles. It means: once you're in profit and approaching a logical target, take it. Don't let greed push you to hold past a prudent exit just to squeeze out more points. On Monday, with Battle Plan 3 up 50 points and approaching the gap fill, Micros Trader locked the profit and closed his platform — a textbook Green Over Greed call.

What is the 2026 opening price and why does it matter as a target?

A: The 2026 opening price is the first traded price of the ES futures contract when the calendar year 2026 began. It acts as a significant reference level — a natural magnet for price when the market is trending higher. In Monday's Battle Plan, it was stated as the ultimate upside target for longs from below, and price was approaching it as the session progressed.

What is Chart Buddy and when is it releasing?

A: Chart Buddy is a new TradingView automation tool being developed by Micros Trader — not yet released as of this session. It allows traders to create custom one-click actions that simultaneously switch chart timeframes, load indicator sets, and toggle drawings on and off. It also includes an auto-screenshot feature for trade journaling and audio alerts via Trade Coach. A full document and video will accompany the release.

How do you handle a winning trade when your macro bias says the market should go lower?

A: Remove the bias entirely. Trading discipline in ES futures demands you follow what price is doing — not what the macro picture says it should do. If you're long and in profit, your only job is to manage that trade per your system. Don't let a bearish narrative push you to exit early or flip short prematurely. Follow price. Follow the system.

When is the right time to look for a new entry after a big overnight move?

A: After a large directional move — like Monday's 50–60 point overnight run — re-entry requires patience. You need a fresh setup at a new level, not a chase into extended price. Micros Trader couldn't long at the overnight high and wouldn't short into the gap fill without a clean reason. The call was to close the platform, lock the profit, and wait for something new and clean. Waiting is a valid and often profitable trading decision.